Rule over Ming Dynasty

Facing Liu Ji's move, the important ministers present were immediately stunned.

It is said that Liu Ji was the person closest to the emperor, so he should know the emperor's character better. The emperor had no reason to accept Zhou Jing's plan.

Unexpectedly, the chief assistant actually stood up and took the lead in supporting Zhou Jing's plan at this time, which made people immediately confused.

Liu Ji was not surprised by everyone's reaction, but explained with a smile: "The reason why I support this plan is because the Ming Dynasty started due to the locust plague, so I also believe that we should follow the way of heaven."

Yin Zhi and others felt relieved when they heard this explanation.

According to historical records: In the fourth year of Zhizheng period, there was drought, locusts, and great famine.When Taizu was seventeen years old, his parents and brother died one after another, and he was too poor to be buried. ….Taizu was left alone and had no one to rely on, so he entered Huangjue Temple and became a monk.

If it hadn't been for the locust plague, Taizu would have still been a farmer in his hometown, but it would have been impossible for him to leave home at a young age. Naturally, he would not have achieved great achievements later.

Considering the current situation, no one can 100% guarantee that the killing method will be effective, but fasting and opening grain stores is a safe way.

Zhu Youtang was a little surprised by Liu Ji's actions, but when he heard Liu Ji throw out this rhetoric, he also understood that the chief assistant chose to prefer metaphysics.

The problem this time is not only the locusts themselves, but also the courtiers present who can break their original fixed metaphysical thinking and adopt a more positive way to solve the problem.

Throughout the ages, too many problems have been blamed on the irreversible fate of heaven. As a result, the entire society has stagnated and the dynasty has been trapped in the cycle of Zhou Shi.

Zhu Youtang sipped the tea in silence. With his vision, he could naturally see through the fog ahead, but he did not intend to do everything himself, but wanted to wait and see what happened.

Han Youying looked at the mature man in front of her, and felt more and more that this man was so charming.

The imperial study room seemed very quiet at this time.

"What is the way of heaven? It should be based on the people! The locusts are raging now. How can they be immortal? Naturally, the whole people should be mobilized to exterminate the locusts. Even if there are tens of thousands of locusts, we will kill them by the tens of thousands!" Liu Xuan, Minister of War, Unmoved, he insisted on his position.

Ever since I witnessed the cruelty of the battlefield in Liaodong and saw the Ming Dynasty killing Jianlu to the point of almost annihilation, I have come to believe that there is no such thing as the way of heaven.

As long as they stick to one direction and work hard, they can overcome no matter how difficult it is, and they don't have to pray to God for everything.

What's more, now that the Ming Dynasty has a wise king in charge, and the government and the public are united as never before, why should we kneel down to pray to the gods instead of actively hunting locusts to avoid greater harm?

"That's right! Now we cannot rest on our laurels, nor can we allow the disaster to expand. If all the people work together to kill the locusts, how can there be any reason to kill them all?" Li Si, the Minister of Household Affairs, was well aware of the dangers of the locust plague, and he expressed his position clearly.

Liu Ji saw that Li Yu and Yin Zhi were ready to make a move, and realized that his chief assistant did not have much appeal at all, and his old face suddenly felt hot.

But without waiting for others to continue expressing their opinions, he hurriedly asked everyone to start voting: "It's useless for us to talk more, let's start voting now!"

Zhu Youtang immediately caught Liu Ji's little thoughts, but the chief assistant was inevitably a little competitive, and he was also willing to ignore the final voting result of this matter.

The new imperial court that I have worked so hard to shape is also implementing my pragmatic governing philosophy. I just hope that I will not be too disappointed.

The voting began soon. On one side was the ritual-protecting faction headed by Chief Assistant Liu Ji and Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Rites Zhou Jing. On the other side was the killing faction headed by officials such as the Minister of War Liu Xuan and the Minister of Household Li Si.

Liu Ji actually played a trick and suggested that the important ministers who supported Zhou Jing raise their hands.

Zhou Jing, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Li Dongyang, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, did not seem to hesitate at all and raised their hands high.

Wu Yu, the left minister of Hubu, went to Shandong as a doctor of Hubu a few years ago. He was well aware of the difficulties of the people at the bottom, but he looked at the performances of Liu Ji and others with cold eyes.

Liu Zhong, the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, has seen too much suffering among the people in Huguang over the years. To them, it is just a small thing like a small harvest, but it can often cost the life of a family, and their hearts are not shaken at all.

Although Wang Yue could not speak here because he concurrently served as the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and had supervisory duties, as one of the cabinet ministers, he also had the right to vote, and his not raising his hands was still a vote.

Jia Jun, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Li Yu, Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, are out-and-out imperialists, so naturally they have no reason to raise their hands.

Since most of the six ministers present were directly promoted from among the officials, they were less focused on seniority than the previous ministers. They were more thinking about how to do practical things for the people. Naturally, they were more inclined to kill locusts among the people.

One second, two seconds, three seconds!
Liu Ji saw that the person raising his hand could count with one hand, and he immediately knew the final result.

Although the dignified chief minister is on the side, the current imperial court is obviously more energetic and has a strong adventurous spirit, so it advocates the elimination of locusts by all the people to win with an absolute advantage.

Zhou Jing and Li Dongyang looked at each other silently. Although they expected this result, they still sighed secretly when they saw such a huge disparity.

Liu Ji felt like he had been slapped loudly. Although he was a dignified chief minister, his influence was far lower than he wanted.

It's just that he is an old man in the officialdom after all, so it is impossible for him to feel ashamed because of such a one-sided defeat.

Liu Ji quickly adjusted his mentality, and there was no trace of depression on his face: "Your Majesty, the proposal of universal locust eradication was passed by a high vote. Please make it clear!"

Although the important ministers present were the most important participants, the final decision-making power always rested with the emperor above, and the decision could only be implemented with the nod of the one above.

The corners of Zhu Youtang's mouth rose slightly, and he was quite satisfied with the voting results, which proved that his years of training had not been in vain, and many important ministers had slowly focused on rejuvenating the country through hard work.

Of course, the reason for such good results is also due to the reshaping of the official promotion system, so that officials know that only by doing good things can they be reused.

In fact, everyone is lazy, and officials are no exception.

If the emperor fasts, local officials are responsible for opening warehouses and stocking grain. Not only do they not have to do anything and take responsibility, they can even benefit from it. Naturally, they are not willing to go to the trouble of killing locusts.

If promotions are based on personal performance and officials' management abilities are examined, and the qualifications that officials are proud of become worthless, then there will naturally be more officials doing things.

In the final analysis, the government must first govern the officials. Now that Zhu Youtang has abolished the imperial promotion system, a promotion system that measures merit and debt is being adopted to stimulate the enthusiasm of officials.

The way of heaven will eventually be defeated by greed.

Zhu Youtang took a sip of tea and said calmly: "Since the plan for the nationwide locust eradication has been approved, please discuss how to organize the entire people to eradicate the locusts!"

"According to the order!" Liu Ji and other important ministers responded respectfully after receiving the emperor's instructions.

The imperial study room has become the place where major national affairs are decided, so that the eunuchs who come in and out seem to be tiptoeing.

"Since we want to organize people to exterminate locusts, we need organizers, and we also need to set up agencies to collect statistics and rewards. I believe that the county magistrate will organize the locust extermination, and the prefectural magistrate at the higher level will be responsible for verification and issuing rewards, while the prefect will do the Supervision. The key to nationwide locust eradication is that everyone should actively eradicate locusts. This county cannot actively eradicate locusts, but neighboring counties are perfunctory. Based on this, the responsibility for locust control must also be shared among levels. Lower-level officials are ineffective in controlling locusts. , it will involve higher-level officials being punished, forming a vertical joint responsibility system!" Li Yu, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, took the lead in putting forward the plan.Jia Jun, Minister of Industry, and others heard that Li Yu spoke so comprehensively, especially the responsibility system, which was deeply recognized by everyone, so they all expressed their approval.

"Locust eradication is not limited to manpower. Ducks can eat hundreds of locusts every day. Locust plagues usually last for two or three years. Today we not only need to control the current locust plague, but also prevent next year's disaster. Therefore, we can encourage people to raise ducks! It is limited to next year. "Any house that raises ducks can be rewarded by killing thousands of locusts!" Li Si, the Minister of Household Affairs, has been paying attention to the control of locusts for a long time, and he also found his own plan.

"When I was in Huguang, I also encountered a locust plague! In fact, locusts do not eat legumes and cotton. In order to prevent the damage caused by the locust plague next year, people can also be encouraged to plant more cotton and legumes next year!" Liu Zhong, the Minister of Punishment, immediately expressed his support.

The three ministers took turns speaking, and a very mature and comprehensive plan was actually released. The wisdom of the elites of this era cannot be underestimated.

The corners of Zhu Youtang's mouth rose slightly. He already understood the wisdom of these ancients, so he was not too surprised.

Practice reveals the truth. Some biological habits have been clearly understood by the people at the bottom, and they can even use their experience to eliminate and prevent locusts.

The thought of praising these three era elites just crossed my mind, but I almost choked on the words that followed.

"I was born in a poor family. When I was a child, I played with people in the wilderness. I caught locusts and roasted them over fire. The aroma was delicious. Why not encourage everyone to catch locusts and eat them?" Xu Qiong also wanted to express herself and immediately put forward her own idea.

When these words were spoken, although some important ministers thought that Mr. Xu Ge's words were reasonable, more people immediately showed bitter smiles.

The locust family is very large, with more than 8000 species in total.

The locusts seen in the fields are indeed edible, but the locusts in locust plagues are gregarious locusts. Not only are they more destructive, but they often carry toxins in their bodies.

Although you may not necessarily die if you eat this kind of locust, the toxin of the locust exists objectively, so there is a certain probability of causing illness, and some people may even die from it.

If the imperial court mobilizes the people to eat locusts, they can indeed obtain protein, but it is not much different from killing people. Only a cabinet minister like Xu Qiong who knows little about agriculture can propose such an unreliable plan.

In fact, the common people have thought about catching these locusts, burning them and frying them, but the toxins obtained after eating them remain in the body, which makes them more in awe of the locust plague, and even agree that this locust plague is indeed a warning from God to the emperor.

As for the dignified cabinet ministers throwing out such a plan, it also reflects that the important ministers are too far away from the people at the bottom. Even Xu Qiong, who was born in poverty, has already left the people at the bottom.

"It's ridiculous. Disaster locusts are different from ordinary locusts. If you eat them, your life will be in danger!" Yin Zhi knew that locusts were inedible at all, so he scolded him rudely.

He and Xu Qiong are both cabinet ministers, so their attitude is supposed to be more polite, but Yin Zhi has a temperamental attitude towards things and people.Now when they hear such a proposal that harms the people, they jump out to criticize without mercy.

Xu Qiong had always been resentful that Yin Zhi had taken the position of his second assistant, but now that he saw Yin Zhi scolding him so mercilessly, he was ready to argue.

For a moment, the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Liu Ji saw something was wrong, but he rushed to comfort him: "The locusts in the field are very similar to the plague locusts, and misunderstandings are common! Don't be afraid of your jokes, I thought they were the same thing earlier, but it turned out to be quite different. Same, haha..."

As the dignified chief minister of the cabinet jumped out and laughed at himself, the surrounding atmosphere relaxed a bit.

snort!
Xu Qiong realized that she had made a mistake, but Yin Zhi's words were like a thorn in her heart, but she secretly made up her mind to get things back in the future.

Li Yu, the Minister of Personnel, smelled a hint of gunpowder, and secretly exchanged glances with Li Si, the Minister of Hubu.

This is actually the case in officialdom. Not to mention hostile camps, even those in the same camp can easily have conflicts.All I can say about this matter is that Yin Zhi was too straightforward, and his words had already offended the petty Xu Qiong.

However, open disputes in the court are becoming less and less common nowadays, and more and more people use hidden arrows to attack people.

"If it's to prevent locusts, I have an ancient method!"

It was at this moment that Zhu Youtang suddenly appeared in the attic above.

Today's Zhu Youtang is very much like the great leaders of later generations. Once he stands up to speak, all the important ministers below him will listen respectfully.

Not to mention that Zhu Youtang was a talented and strategic emperor, even if he was a mediocre monarch, not many people dared to challenge Zhu Youtang's authority.

Facing everyone's gaze, Zhu Youtang said with astonishing authenticity: "I usually study here, and I once read in an ancient book that if plant ash and lime are crushed into fine powder and sprinkled on the grain, locusts will not They are eating the crops. In places where locusts are infested, you can try this method to prevent locusts and protect your own food and crops!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Li Yu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, and others heard that Zhu Youtang had obtained the ancient method, and they seemed to believe unconditionally in the truth.

At the end of the meeting, the important ministers dispersed.

They walked out of Xiyuan Gate one after another, which was actually very close to Jiangmi Lane. Some officials who had no serious health problems even chose to walk back to their yamen.

Although a consensus has been reached on locust control and locust prevention, it is inevitable that some people will be worried about the matter.

Wu Yu, the left minister of the Ministry of Revenue, left with Li Si and looked worried: "Master, what do you think of the method your majesty just mentioned?"

"Whether it's feasible or not, we'll find out once we try it! It's just that His Majesty has always been prudent. Now that he has proposed it, this method must be feasible!" Although Li Si was not sure, he still gave a vote of confidence.

Although the emperor speaks less and less now, it gives people a more inscrutable feeling, and what he says now is every word.

Things have always been in conflict with each other in the world. Since ducks eat locusts, and locusts do not eat cotton seedlings and leguminous seedlings, it is not surprising that they are afraid of the mixture of lime and plant ash.

Wu Yu, the left minister of the Household Department, discovered that this was indeed the case, but when he saw no one around, he couldn't help but said: "Mr. Liu Ge behaved strangely today. I wonder what the reason is?"

"It's either the emperor's test or Liu Ge's test. I can't say now! But do you really think Liu Ge dares to fight with the emperor?" Li Si came to his sedan chair and asked rhetorically.

Wu Yu, the left minister of the household department, knew that the current court was essentially a one-word court, and he shook his head very firmly: "Mr. Liu Ge is not stupid, how could he do such a self-destructive thing!"

"Young Situ, the struggle in the imperial court has always existed. You should do your duty and do your duty. If the gods really want to fight above, you can just watch from the side. This kind of thing is not something you can participate in. It's best not to get involved!" Li Si walked into the sedan and warned him with a serious tone.

Wu Yu, the left minister of the Household Department, regarded the other party as his guiding light, and respectfully said to each other: "Thank you, Master Zhengtang, for your guidance. Please go slowly!"

Just as Li Si's sedan left, Wu Yu turned around and saw Zhou Jing and Li Dongyang walking out together.

Unlike him, who needed to transition to the position of local governor, Zhou Jing and Li Dongyang were both ministers and emperor teachers, but they were able to reach the position of six ministers in one step.

He knew that the two of them had just been called to the cabinet by Xu Qiong. Seeing these two people looking elated, he had a vague feeling that someone in the six ministers was about to fall.

A court battle without gunpowder may begin quietly. (End of chapter)